Young Scientists Activities

Previous Activities

Pre-conference Event at the 28th SSB+RM Annual Meeting

On September 4th, 2024, 46 young scientists gathered at EMPA in St. Gallen for the Annual Meeting Pre-Event, organized by the Young Scientists. The event featured four impressive speakers—Prof. Dr. Morteza Aramesh (ETH Zurich), Prof. Dr. Martin Stoddard (AO Research Institute Davos), Dr. Séphanie Boder-Pasche (CSEM Neuchatel), and Dr. Jessica Gilgenbach (SmartPath AG)—who shared their unique career journeys, highlighting challenges and opportunities in both academia and industry. The roundtable discussion that followed covered topics like career planning, job interviews, and family planning, creating an interactive and insightful atmosphere. Networking continued during lunch, rounding off a successful event. Report (PDF, 0.3 MB)

SSB+RM YS Lab Networking Event Berne​

On July 4th, 2024, 37 young scientists from across Switzerland gathered in Berne for another exciting Lab Networking Event. In the morning, we had the opportunity to learn more about the sitem-insel (Swiss Institute of Translational and Entrepreneurial Medicine) as well as CSL Behring and AlveoliX, and in the afternoon we visited different labs from the ARTORG Center for Biomedical Research. Thanks to the big efforts of everyone involved, we learnt about the exciting biomedical research activities in the Swiss capital. Report (PDF, 0.3 MB)

6th Young Scientist Symposium

On the 12th of January, 2024, researchers from labs all around Switzerland gathered in the main building at ETH Zurich for the 6th SSB+RM Young Scientists Symposium. This event was filled with stimulating talks, engaging poster presentations, and enlightening discussions. The symposium aimed to create a platform for young scientists to connect and engage with peers in their research field, potentially sparking new inter-institutional collaborations across Switzerland. The primary attendees of our symposium were master’s and PhD students, many of whom may not have had extensive opportunities to present their work in such a conference environment. Therefore, the symposium also served as a valuable experience for these participants to gain confidence in presenting their research and to enhance their overall communication skills. Report (PDF, 2.7 MB)

Straumann + University of Basel Lab & Networking

On November 17th 2023, 37 young researchers from labs all around Switzerland gathered in Basel for an enriching Lab Networking Event. The day was defined by two significant visits: Straumann in the morning and the Department of Biomedicine at the University of Basel in the afternoon. This itinerary provided an invaluable inside look into both a leading medtech company and in a highly translational academic research department in the field of tissue engineering and biomedicine. Report (PDF, 0.9 MB)

Swiss-French Biomaterials Summer School (SBF 2023)

On June 15th and 16th 2023, young researchers from France and Switzerland came to Zurich for the first Swiss-French Biomaterials Summer School. This event was co-hosted by the young scientist organizations of both the Swiss SSB+RM as well as the French BIOMAT. Our event offered a big variety of sessions from conventional “conference-style” keynote presentations and poster sessions to more soft-skill-oriented workshops and panel discussions. The goal was to provide the participants with valuable tools and skills to grow as researchers as well as to catalyze potential collaborations across the Swiss-French border. Due to the nature of our event, the background of our participants was even more diverse this time than it usually is. We had 46 young researchers coming from France and 40 from Switzerland. The majority were PhD students though there were also several bachelor students, master students, post-docs and even some assistant professors. Report (PDF, 0.7 MB), Flyer (PDF, 1.4 MB).

The 5th Young Scientist Symposium – Bringing Materials to Life

On January 20th, 2023, 91 young researchers from all over Switzerland attended our 5th Young Scientists Symposium in the main building of ETH Zurich under the title “Bringing Materials to Life”. In addition to the two excellent keynote presentations given by Prof. Dr. Bert Müller from the University of Basel and Prof. Dr. Li Tang from the EPFL, we had 8 student presentations highlighting once again the high quality and diversity of the research done within our community. All the talks presented cutting edge research which led to many questions and inspiring discussions which often continued on during the breaks, poster sessions and then of course the apéro at the very end. The symposium was a full success and we would once again like to thank all our supporters, our two keynote speakers and the jury. Already looking forward to the next one! Report (PDF, 0.5 MB), Flyer (PDF, 02. MB)

Lab Networking Event AO Research Institute Davos

On November 18th 2022, 33 young researchers from all around Switzerland made their way up to snowy Davos for our Young Scientist lab networking event at the AO Research Institute (ARI). After some welcome-pizza offered by the ARI, Dr. Geoff Richards, the head of the institute, welcomed us to ARI by taking us back to the very beginning of orthopedic research in the early 1900s and the founding of the ARI all the way to the cutting-edge research performed in Davos today. Subsequently, the participants were then split in several groups to visit the different facilities and research groups: From biomaterial synthesis over histological processing of bone specimen to ultrasound patterning of cells in a bioprinter, the ARI has it all! In addition, our participants were also allowed to have a look at the ARI’s unique preclinical research facility which is one of the world’s best places to investigate the translational potential of orthopedic solutions in large animal models. As is custom at our lab networking events, our event closed with a poster session exhibiting the research of the institute in more detail which was accompanied by an apéro. This informal setting allowed for many stimulating discussions, networking and inspirational thoughts which were then spread all around Switzerland as the participants left Davos in the evening. Report (PDF, 0.9 MB)

Pre-conference Event at the 26th SSB+RM Annual Meeting

The ambitious theme of our pre-conference event on June 7th 2022 was “How to become a successful group leader in 120 minutes?”. It was staged as a roundtable discussion with Prof. Priscilla Briquez and Prof. Wilfried Weber from the University of Freiburg, Germany and Prof. Bart Deplancke from the EPFL, Switzerland on the panel. It was inspiring to hear how none of their countless setbacks during their careers had been able to put even a small dent in their enthusiasm for research and how they still continue to learn and grow personally and professionally every day by engaging with their PhDs and post-docs. A big thanks to Prof. Martin Ehrbar and the rest of the SSB+RM executive committee for giving us the opportunity to host this event! Report (PDF, 1.0 MB)

6th Lab Networking Event at EMPA St. Gallen

On May 20th, 33 young scientists had the opportunity to visit EMPA in St. Gallen to find out more about their innovative approaches and technologies in the field of biomaterials and regenerative medicine. After Prof. Katharina Maniura’s welcome presentation, we got to visit their labs and engage with the researchers behind the projects during the poster session. Big thanks to Urs Bünter and Dr. Markus Rottmar for hosting us at EMPA and organizing the event! Report (PDF, 0.2 MB)

The 4th Young Scientist Symposium – From Micro To Macro In Biomedicine

The Young Scientist team of the SSB+RM organized the 4th Young Scientist symposium on Thursday October 7th 2021, at ETH Hauptgebäude (HG) with the funding support from the ETHZ Rektorat (Ref. #1-000005-006 (VB 16195)). Keynote speakers: Prof. Inge Herrmann and Prof. Olivier Guenat. Flyer (PDF, 0.4 MB), Report of the YS symposium (PDF, 0.4 MB)

The 3rd Young Scientist Symposium – Clinical Translation: Challenges and Opportunities

Tuesday, January 14th, 2020, ETH Zürich Zentrum, Hauptgebäude (HG), Room D3.2; Registration: 10.30, Symposium: 11.00-18.00, Flyer (PDF, 2 MB)

5th Lab Networking Event

The Lab Networking Event took place last January 23rd, 2019 at Geistlich Pharma AG in Wolhusen. Geistlich welcomed the Young Scientists to an afternoon of company overviews and research, as well as tours in their labs and production facility. The Young Scientists had the chance to learn how a family-run company established in 1851, which was originally involved in the production of natural glue and fertilizer, transitioned to the pharmaceutical market to combat bone atrophy during the Second World War. Since then, Geistlich has manufactured pharmaceutical and medical products which are nowadays highly used in the clinics. The Young Scientists had insights into the development and production of several of the products currently on the market, and even a behind-the-scenes visit to the facility where the products are produced, validated and packaged to be delivered worldwide. Also, Geistlich emphasized their commitment to continuous development and improvement of current and new products to match the needs of the future market. The day culminated with a delicious apéro sponsored by Geistlich! An exciting afternoon of learning, networking and fun all together! Thank you to Geistlich for the great organization (especially Claudio Zihlmann) and to the SSB+RM for funding the travel grants of the Young Scientists! Report as pdf (0.6 MB).

• Lab Network Event, April 20th, 2018, AO Foundation, Davos. Interactive day of workshops on “Biomaterials in Prevention and Treatment of Orthopaedic Device-Related Infections”
• 2nd Young Scientist Symposium by the SSB+RM Young Scientists, 21.11.2017, 10:30-18:00, Universitätsspital Zürich
• Lab Network Event, January 31st, 2017, RMS Foundation, Bettlach, in collaboration with Mathys AG, Bettlach